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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | James Thomas (1924-08-11)August 11, 1924 |
| Died | July 25, 1982(1982-07-25) (aged 57) Portland, Oregon, US |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Shag Thomas King Toby[1] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
| Billed weight | 255 lb (116 kg) |
| Billed from | Portland, Oregon |
| Debut | 1954 |
| Retired | 1976 |
James "Shag" Thomas (August 11, 1924 – July 25, 1982) was an Americanprofessional wrestler during the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the few prominentAfrican-American wrestlers of his day.
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Thomas attendedBellaire High School inBellaire, Ohio. He played football for the school's Big Reds under head coach John "Butch" Niemiec, a former star player at theUniversity of Notre Dame under coachKnute Rockne. In Thomas' four years in high school, the Big Reds record was 31–6–1 and included an Ohio Valley Athletic Association title. He graduated in 1942.
He subsequently served in the US military duringWorld War II.[citation needed]
Thomas attendedOhio State University, playing for theOhio State Buckeye squad. He was a member of the1950 Rose Bowl champion team that entered that game at 6–1–2 and was deemed the sixth best team that year in theAP poll. During that season he had great performances against an undefeatedMinnesota andMichigan.
Thomas' younger brother Clyde Thomas starred in the backfield for theOhio University football team that went undefeated in 1960. Clyde played football for theNational Football League'sPhiladelphia Eagles,Canadian Football League'sBritish Columbia Lions, andUnited Football League'sWheeling Ironmen.
In July 1950, Thomas signed a contract with theGreen Bay Packers and appeared in pre-season games that year. However, he was cut prior to the final exhibition game.[2][3][4][5]
Thomas was also known as King Toby and often fought as ababyface.[1] During most of his career, segregation in wrestling was the norm in many (if not most) territories and promotions throughout the US. Although he had wrestled in his native Ohio for promoterAl Haft,[6] he gained prominence while wrestling in thePacific Northwest Wrestling territory for promoterDon Owen.[1] Owen did not segregate his wrestlers, and Thomas flourished there, winning the Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship twice and the Tag Team Championship 16 times.[1]
Thomas retired from wrestling in 1969 after defeatingRoger Kirby by disqualification in his final match. After retirement, he refereed wrestling matches on Owen'sPortland Wrestling broadcast Saturday nights onKPTV. In 1972, Thomas came out of retirement and returned to wrestling until 1976.
Thomas succumbed to aheart attack on July 25, 1982, at age 57.
